After around 160,000 asylum seekers arrived in Sweden in 2015, successive governments have gradually tightened immigration policies. The current minority government believes that an even stricter approach will be popular with voters in September’s parliamentary elections, it reports Reuters.
“These requirements are much stricter than before, because currently there are almost no conditions for obtaining citizenship,” said Migration Minister Johan Forssell.
According to the new rules, candidates will have to live in Sweden for eight years (instead of the previous five), have a monthly income of more than 20,000 Swedish kroner (about $2,225), and pass a language and social skills test. “It makes sense to know whether Sweden is a monarchy or a republic if you want to be a citizen,” added Forssell.
People with a criminal record, in Sweden or abroad, will have to wait longer. For example, someone who served a four-year prison sentence would have to wait 15 years before applying.
The Sweden Democrats, the party that supports the government, argue that years of failed immigration policies have contributed to the rise in gang crime. The new rules should come into force on June 6, and last week the government announced further tightening of the rules for asylum seekers.
(Vijesti.ba)
